[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 143 (Sunday, October 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        UNDERACHIEVING CONGRESS

  (Mr. WYNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, by the calendar it says Sunday but in fact it 
is spin day, the day the Republicans come before the American public 
and try to spin their way out of this do-nothing Congress. Well, they 
get offended when you say do-nothing, so let us say underachieving 
Congress. The fact of the matter is we on the Democratic side want to 
stay here and deal with the issue of education. We need to invest more 
money in public education. The Republicans will try to tell you that 
they want to send money back to the States because money is going into 
bureaucracy. That is not true. Less than 2 percent of the Department of 
Education's budget is spent on administration. Ninety-eight percent 
goes directly to the States and localities. That is our position. The 
States and counties and local communities need more money to hire 
teachers, to train teachers, to put computers in classrooms. If we want 
a world-class education system, we have to make a world-class 
investment. That is why we are fighting. That is why we are here. The 
White House and the congressional Democrats say we must invest more in 
education. The Republicans simply want to go home and do nothing.

                          ____________________